Clipped Wings
by WheezylovesSeverus4ever
Summary: Voldemort has taken power and has started to gather and sell anybody who isn't a pure blood into slavery. Harry's gets sold to the business at 5 years. When he's nine he gets sold to a member of the order who is a spy against the Dark Lord, I wonder who?
1. Prologue

**This story is dedicated to my cousin, Kayla, for she did ALL of the research for me. This wouldn't be possible without her. She also came up with the title.**

**Authors Note: **I don't know what exactly I have planned for this story, but there is a chance it will be really dark. It will probably turn into a Snarry, really later one when Harry is older and everything.

Warnings that this story might contain: Non con, slash, possible extreme chan, torture, strong language. That's all I can think of off the top of my head; warnings will be posted in each chapter, according to what it contains.

**Clipped Wings: Prologue**

"There isn't much to say about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, also known as You-Know-Who, The Dark Lord, and Lord Voldemort. Nobody really knows what he went through as a child, or how he grew up; it is rumored that he grew up in an orphanage. Nobody can be sure though, as anybody who knows too much is killed on the spot.

The Dark Lord was born December 31st, 1926 and started his first year of Hogwarts in 1938 where he was sorted into Slytherin. Lord Voldemort was a model student; he became Prefect and Head Boy later and had fantastic grades all through Hogwarts. Lord Voldemort gained himself a bunch of thuggish Slytherins that would later become the early Death Eaters. He graduated from Hogwarts in 1945.

Lord Voldemort started officially recruiting Death Eaters in 1970. Sometime during 1981 a Death Eater overheard of a prophesy leading him to attempt to kill the Potter family. Lily and James Potter were killed by the killing curse, but the baby, Harry Potter, was unable to be killed. Instead of being killed, the baby somehow rebounded the killing curse, sending the Dark Lord into a much weaker being.

Nobody is sure what exactly had happened during that time, but it is said that the Dark Lord attached himself to snakes to stay alive, until he came across Quirnius Quirrell. After attaching himself to Quirrell they broke into Gringotts and stole the philosopher's stone. Lord Voldemort then used it to resurrect himself, killing Quirrell in the process.

In 1983 The Dark Lord and his Death Eaters went to the Ministry and killed everybody there, except his spies, and took over power. Since then the times have been dark. Muggles and mudbloods are executed on the spot, or sold into slavery. Slaves consist of men, women, and sometimes even small children; however, if the slave is too small or two weak to do slave's work, they are executed in front of other slaves.

Anybody who opposes The Dark Lord openly is taken into the middle of a busy street and tortured to death in front of everybody, as a warning to civilians. Sometimes, not even the purebloods are safe.

Yes folks, dark times are upon us…"

_Special addition Daily Prophet news article, shortly released after The Dark Lord's rise of power.___


	2. Meet 58532

**Authors Note: **I don't usually put this kind of things in my authors note, but I feel that this story is going to need me to. This story, as I probably have said in the prologue, is going to contain some pretty controversial, upsetting, angsty, dark, and probably some sickening themes. That's not to say the whole story will be like that, but how can it not in a story where Voldemort rules? There will be as many happy times in the story as unhappy, or so I'm going to try. I don't want to ruin any of the plot in case anybody really does like this story and wants to read it, but this story will contain masters raping their slaves. Even the slaves that are young children. I'll try not to make it too graphic or anything, but if you don't like that sort of thing turn away now. DO NOT FLAME ME! I have warned you, and with every chapter I will post any warning that it contains, so there should be no reason to get mad at me. If you just don't like my story perhaps, don't sit there and tell me how horrible it is, unless it constructive. Tell me why you don't like it, and nicely please. That's all for now I think, on with the show!

**Clipped Wings Chapter One: Meet 58532**

It was almost completely silent; the only sound to be heard was the soft whistling the wind swishing past the abandoned houses and buildings. There were no birds, no people, not even bugs wandered around the area. The day was October 24, 1989; six years since The Dark Lord had gained power, and it was like hell had come to earth. The world had changed drastically since then, almost immediately changes were being made; horrible, nasty changes that had destroyed thousands of lives.

A loud crack of apparition suddenly disturbed the maddening silence. Severus Snape took a deep breath to calm his nerves. He hated this part of his job, no matter how much he tried to pretend it wasn't true, he did have a heart; it wasn't even made of stone either. Slave auctions, they were horrible and they broke Severus' heart. His job was to go to these auctions and bid everything he had on the children there, if there were any. Children often didn't last long after being sold. Either they are too small to work and were executed, or their masters got too rough in punishment, killing them; disease was almost very common.

The Order would get the money to buy slaves that from donations; Dumbledore had connections with witches and wizards all over the world that had gone in hiding, they were the ones that send in donations. There were also a couple of pureblood families that help, such as the Weasley's, but lately the donations have been getting smaller. They used to buy the women too, but once the money started getting scarce they had to start only buying the children. After the children were bought they would either work to free them, or give them to Order members that won't mistreat them.

Severus took a look at his surroundings; it was the first time he had been to this town, he moved from town to town quite often, basically where ever there was an auction he would be there. Severus frowned when he saw what was around him.

The town looked more deserted than normal, there wasn't a single person and the houses were either boarded up, burned down, or had collapsed in on itself. Windows were broken, glass scattered all over the street; doors were falling, or had already fallen off their hinges. It looked to Severus like the apocalypse had come, as Severus started walking he even found a couple of dead bodies shoved into small spaces, in corners, and one was just out in the middle of the street.

Severus felt sick as he finally arrived at the building that they were having the auction at. He had to double check to make sure it was the right place, as it looked almost as bad as the houses behind him did. It was a small white building with the paint chipping off, there was a busted window that someone had nailed a board over it. The door was barely attached and Severus was almost afraid to open it, in case it fell off.

When Severus opened the door he was bombarded with loud shouting and yelling, the auction had already started it seemed. He took a place in the back and discretely looked around. There was a huge crowd of people, mostly Death Eaters, standing in front of a stage where a man stood. Behind him was a curtain that Severus knew the slaves came through.

The next slave that was dragged through was a frail looking old man who looked to be about 75 years old. He was completely naked, as all slaves were until they were bought, had no facial hair and had piercing blue eyes that reminded Severus faintly of Albus. He was bought for a very cheap price, obviously nobody expected him to last long.

Severus had to work to look interested, honestly the thought of using other human beings as slaves made him sick; he didn't care about blood status. To Severus they were all the same; he after all, was a half-blood himself. The only thing that kept him from being killed was his 'loyalty' to the Dark Lord and his potions ability.

Severus looked back up to the stage as a woman was dragged up. She was introduced as number 2598. The woman had dirty blonde hair that Severus was sure was quite literal, and she had big frightened brown eyes. 2598 scanned the crowd wildly and her eyes finally rested on him, Severus felt his heart sink as he realized that he couldn't buy her. He couldn't save her because he didn't have enough and it wasn't in his orders. Severus only had enough for one, maybe two children, if there were any. He wished he knew for sure what slaves would be brought out, but there was no way to tell and he couldn't risk it.

After three slaves were sold-a middle age man and two women- Severus' attention was snapped to the stage as a small boy was brought through, number 58532. He couldn't have been more than seven, maybe eight years old. The child had a mess of jet black hair that was greasy and full of dirt, his face and body was covered in bruises from dark blue to yellow in colour. He had cuts and welts all over his back like he'd been whipped recently. Severus' heart ached for the boy and started bidding.

Even though 58532 was so damaged, he went for very high prices and for a moment Severus didn't think he'd be able to afford it. Thankfully the man that Severus was viciously bidding against dropped out, grumbling in disappointment. Severus back to watch the rest of the auction.

Severus was glad that he had enough to buy 58532, the poor boy looked like he'd been through hell and back. He wondered why the boy seemed to have so many more injuries than all the other slaves, could the boy be a 'trouble maker'? Slaves were often led around on chains, but 58532's chain was so tight that it had started digging in to his skin. It looked like it had been there for a really long time as some of his skin had started growing over it in some places and some parts were getting infected.

Severus just wanted to go to the back and take the child way and heal him. But Severus knew that even when he did get the child, he would have to treat him as a slave. He wouldn't ever get beat, or punished for nothing, but he still had to make the boy work. If a Death Eater were to go into his mind and see that he was treated great, then they both would probably get killed. Unless he could successfully teach them Occlumency, then they couldn't treat them properly.

Finally the last slave was sold and they were allowed to go back and get their own. Severus quickly stepped from his spot in back and tried to get through the mob of people, what was hard, everyone was really excited to get their new slaves. Severus knew that most of those really excited people would take their slaves home and rape them. Even though there were specific slaves for that, most people just bought regular slaves because they were cheaper.

After pushing through the last person he opened the door and entered the back room. It really was a sad sight that greeted him. It was a very small room with chains on the walls and straw on the floor. A man stood at the door and Severus raised an eyebrow; usually there were two people at the door. Where had the second one go?

"What slave have you bought?" The man asked with a gruff voice.

"58532." Severus stated and held out his money. The man ripped it out of his hand and squinted at it, then began to count it. When the man had counted all of the money he grunted and pointed towards the back corner of the room. Severus didn't say thank you or anything, just stalked on back.

It was so hard for Severus to pass all those hurt people and not help them, but he had a job to do, so he just kept going. When he finally made it to the corner he stopped in shock, there wasn't just 58532 there, another man was leaning over him.

"Come now, you know you like it." The man hissed, Severus felt his blood boil when he realized that the man was groping the child.

"Get off my slave." Severus growled in a deep, dangerous sounding voice. The man gasped and turned around.

"I didn' mean no harm." The man sputtered. "He's just so…_delectable_." The man's eyes roamed over 58532's naked and bruised body and Severus' blood boiled even more. It was a child! People who would ever think that way about a child was one of the most vile types of humans alive, and they made Severus want to go on a murderous rampage.

"I've bought him and you will step away from him right now." Severus commanded. "I do not like to share." He added to make it sound good.

"Is there anything I should know?" Severus asked taking ahold of the chain. "How old is he? Where did he come from? Does he have any diseases?"

"He's nine." The man said, finally taking his eyes off the silently crying boy. "He was born from a mudblood and a pure blood, but nobody knows who they were. They were killed so the boy was living with his muggle relatives. He has no diseases."

"Good." Severus stated. "I'll be taking him now." Severus turned to the terrified boy and had to pause. The boy's big green eyes were wide and staring at him with such terror that it made his heart clench. How could he ever be harsh with such a damaged boy?

"Come, Boy." Severus snapped. _Ah yes, like that. _58532 stood immediately. He stood so fast that Severus was sure that if he had blinked he would have missed it. "Keep up, I've got places to be." With a saddened heart Severus pulled on the chain making 58532 yelp in intense pain, and Severus began pulling the child out.

When they were back in the auction room Severus began feeling more of a resistance on the chain, he spun around to see 58532 being pulled and prodded. A large beefy man had the child by the arm with one hand, and the other hand was playing with the child's crotch. The child had tears all down his face and he was trying to pull away, but the man was digging his nails painfully into his arm.

"Unhand my slave at once." Severus almost yelled. The man immediately let go backed up, looking positively disgruntled. Severus saw that the men wouldn't stop touching the child unless he picked him up, so he strode forward and swiftly picked up the trembling child and strode out. He walked almost the full distance he did to get there before he put 58532 down. Severus reached forward and grabbed his hand, then apparated away.

They landed just outside of the wards surrounding Prince Manor so Severus, still holding 58532's hand, marched forward. The child didn't put up much of a fight and Severus was even able to let go of his hand until they reached the doors.

When they entered a manor a house elf popped in immediately. "Can Nippy help Master?" The elf asked.

"Nippy, will you tell Albus to expect me for tea later?" Severus asked.

"Nippy can do that sir, can Nippy get master anything else?" The elf asked anxiously, wringing his hands and eyeing 58532 with curiosity.

"No, that will be all." Severus said and started pulling the boy down the hall and into the bathroom. He shut the door and turned to the boy.

"Can you wash yourself?" Severus snapped. 58532 looked at Severus with wide eyes and then glanced at the tub. The child looked ashamed and shook his head, Severus' mouth almost dropped in shock. What nine year old didn't know how to wash himself in a tub?

"I will show you only this once." Severus said, faking annoyance. 58532 nodded vigorously and stared down at the tub as it filled. Severus watched the boy watching the tub and frowned, he was still shocked that he didn't know how to work one. Hadn't he ever used one before he was sold?

When it was done he told the boy to get in. The child suddenly looked absolutely terrified, but shakily got into the tub. As soon as he hit the water the child seemed to gasp in surprise and Severus almost panicked, was it too hot?

"Is the water too hot?" Severus asked. Even if he couldn't be really nice, he could still make sure he wasn't burning in the wash.

"No Master." 58532 said politely. Severus wanted to tell the child to never call him master, but he couldn't. So he gritted his teeth and ignored it.

"Then what's wrong?" Severus demanded.

"Nothing Master." 58532 said, shrinking back in fear.

"Well then what was that gasp for?" Severus asked, his eyes narrowing.

"It's warm Master." 58532 whispered, "I've never had a warm bath before. Usually I just get sprayed down with a cold hose or they pour really hot water on me, Master." Severus could tell the boy was uncomfortable, and after hearing that he was a bit as well. Severus grunted and began running a soapy washcloth all over the boys body, trying to be careful without it being obvious; he didn't want to aggravate the cuts more than they were, but it was harder than he thought.

"Do you have a name?" Severus snapped at the boy. 58532 froze and then quietly said, "58532, Master."

"Do you have a real name?" Severus demanded. Again the boy froze and seemed to get a confused look on his face. "I'm your Master," Severus hated using that card, "You will do what I say. You will answer me when I talk to you. Do you have a real name?"

"…58532, Master," said the boy whispered, then turned around a bit and pointed to his right butt cheek. "It's even burned into my skin. Now my name is 58532, Master." Severus reached forward and grabbed the child's hips to steady him so he could study the mark. Sure enough there was a big scar, a big scar that said "58532". Severus let go and continued to clean the boy.

"Who where you before you were sold?" Severus asked. The child frowned.

"F-Freak, Master, I was Freak." 58532 said, tears filling his eyes.

"You can't expect me to believe that you name was Freak." Severus snapped and turned the child's head to look at his neck. He wouldn't be able to do anything about it while he was awake it would hurt him too much unnecessarily.

"It's what I was called, Master." 58532 said quietly. "S-some of the other slaves called me Shadow…Is that my name, Master?"

"No, it's not." Severus said pouring water over the boy to get the soap off. "That's enough talk for now." He picked the boy up and stood him outside the bathtub and told him to stay there. He came back a couple of minutes later with a large black shirt. "Put this on." The boy was quick to comply. "Good, it's getting late. You'll go to bed and then we will discuss work and punishments tomorrow."

"Master?" 58532 asked softly.

"What?" Severus asked harshly.

"Where do I sleep, Master?" _Oh…_

"Come." Severus motioned for the boy to follow him as he went into the hall. He walked up to a closet and pulled it open, It was a fairly big closet and it would do for the night. Slaves never really had adequate sleeping places anyway… "Stay here for a minute."

Severus quickly strode to his room and pulled the blankets off his bed, then quickly marched back. "You can sleep in here for tonight." Severus said after throwing all the blankets on the floor of the closet.

"Thank you, Master." 58532 said and crawled in, he actually looked somewhat content. Severus shut the door; he turned and leaned against it. Something about that child made his job so much harder. Now he had to go talk to Albus and see what they were going to do.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Hand everywhere, hands touch him all over, grabbing him and pulling him. New Master saved him from the other man touching him, but then as they were leaving everyone wanted to get a good squeeze in. Master didn't care, he just kept walking and pulling on his chain, making it dig painfully into his neck. Oh how he hated his chain.

Master finally turned around and saved 58532 again. Master even picked him up and carried him. That was nice, the only time he was ever picked up was when the people who were training him would pick him up to drop him on the floor or throw him. But Master didn't do that.

When Master put 58532 down they apparated away. He didn't like apparating all that much, he'd only done it a few times. He felt like he was going to fall over for sure, but Master just hung on tight and then pulled him into a really big house.

Once they were inside a house elf popped in. He sometimes envies the house elves, they were usually treated better than most of the slaves. At least they got to eat more. Master talked about somebody called Albus and then dragged him to a room with funny looking things that he'd never seen before.

Master asked if 58532 knew how to wash himself while motioning to one of the big white things. He was embarrassed; it was probably one of those things that were just common with normal people. 58532 wouldn't know though, as this was his first master. He went through training for four years first. Apparently he was dumber than a rock and couldn't learn fast enough.

He couldn't believe it when he felt the water and it was warm, he'd never had warm water before. And then Master started washing him! How absurd! It was nice though, he even ghosted over his cuts, making them not hurt so much. His Master seemed so nice.

But then Master asked what 58532's name was. 58532's name was 58532. That was one of the first things you ever learn in the business, once they give you a name, that's what you stick with. And if somebody asks you then you say the name they gave you, not your name from before.

But when he said '58532' Master looked stern and told him to say his real name. His name from before. As far as he knew, he hadn't had a name from before though. He was Freak before, and that wasn't a name. He vaguely remembered somebody calling him Harry, but he was sure it was his imagination.

After he was clean Master even gave him a shirt to wear! He could have jumped for joy, but that surly would have given him a punishment so he just put it on. Master told him to go to bed, but Master hadn't told him where. So when 58532 asked, Master brought him to a closet. Then went and got some blankets for him to sleep on. He was so happy, usually he was forced to sleep outside or without anything soft. He could get used to his Master, he decided. 58532 closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.


	3. Harry and a Talk With Poppy

**Warnings for this chapter: **Swearing (Only one or two words) and evidence of abuse

**Authors Note: **Sorry this chapter is kind of short, I've been really busy. Hopefully the next one will be longer.

**Clipped Wings Chapter Two: Harry and a Talk With Poppy**

After Severus turned away from the closet door he pulled out his wand and put charms around the house. They would alert him if 58532 woke up and started wandering the house, and he also put up a charm to let him know if anybody entered his house, namely death eaters. He couldn't stand it if one of the death eaters, especially Lucius or Bellatrix got in and had their fun with the child, they would probably kill him.

After he was satisfied with the wards he went downstairs and to the fireplace, he needed to go see Albus. He was about to throw the floo powder in when he had a thought, "Nippy!" He called out. The elf immediately popped in front of him.

"What can Nippy get for Master?" The elf asked.

"I need you to come and get me if anybody arrives here." Severus said. "I have put up wards, but if they break I don't want you to let them anywhere near my slave. If they do, I want you to bring him straight to me."

"Nippy can do that!" The elf said confidently.

"Thank you, you may go." Severus said waving his hand in dismissal. The elf popped away as he turned to the fireplace. Throwing a handful of powder in, he called, "Grimmauld Place"

He stumbled through the floo rather ungracefully, but nobody was in the room at the time, so it was alright. He quickly straightened himself and dusted the soot off his robes, then took a look at his surroundings. He ended up coming through into a really dirty study. There were cobwebs all over the walls and dust coated every surface. Severus shook his head in disgust; Albus and the order had been staying there for years, he didn't understand why they couldn't clean the place up a bit.

Severus quickly strode across the room and pulled open the door, swatting some cob webs out of his way as he did so. Once the door was open and he had stepped out, he could hear voices coming from downstairs, so he swiftly followed them.

Without alerting whoever it was, he walked into the room and spotted who it was. It was Poppy and Albus, and they both looked at him like he grew a third head.

"What's the problem, my boy?" Albus asked. "You charged in here as if Voldemort was at your heals with the killing curse on his tongue." Severus sneered at the old man, mostly to hide his embarrassment. He hadn't realized that he'd been…well, charging. Perhaps he was more worried about the boy in his house than he let on.

"I went to the auction today like you asked me." Severus said.

"Oh? Did you rescue any children?" Albus asked, looking serious again.

"Yes, a nine year old boy." Severus replied, then looked over at Poppy. "It's good you're here as well, I need you to look him over. He looks like hell." Poppy nodded and stood.

"Let's get this over with." She said, looking determined.

"What, right now?" Severus questioned. "He's asleep."

"Well, we'll put him into a spelled sleep, that way we can treat him while he is asleep. You did say he wasn't looking the best."

"He's not, let's go then." Severus said turning, then, "Are you coming along, Headmaster?" Dumbledore wasn't headmaster anymore, but Severus still said it out of habit sometimes. Nobody corrected him, as Albus should still have been headmaster if Voldemort hadn't taken over.

"I better, hadn't I?" Albus sighed. "I hate seeing children like this, it breaks my heart." Severus wanted to agree, but he had a reputation to uphold, so he kept his mouth shut and stalked to the nearest fireplace. He waited for Poppy and Albus to go through, then went through himself, this time coming out gracefully, much to his pleasure.

Severus brushed the soot off his robes and then looked up at Poppy and Albus, who were waiting patiently.

"So where is the lad?" Poppy asked. "You did say it was a boy, correct?"

"Yes, it's a boy." Severus responded. "He's nine years old and his number is 58532. Follow me, I have him in a closet."

"Severus! In a closet?" Poppy asked in horror, just like she normally did when he brought slaves home.

"Yes, Poppy, in a closet. You know that I cannot treat the slaves properly until they are able to learn Occlumency, and even then it can be risky."

"I know Severus, I just feel bad for them-Ah, is this the closet then?" At Severus' nod Poppy said, "Well open it up then and let's see." Severus reached forward and slowly and quietly opened the door, it wouldn't do to wake the boy up. The boy was curled up in the corner off the closet, farthest from the door. He had the blankets around him like a wall, but none were actually on him. Severus heard Poppy gasp from next to him, but Dumbledore was completely silent, he didn't think much of it though as he pulled out his wand and put the boy into a deep sleep.

"There, he won't wake up until the charm is lifted." Severus stated, leaning down to pick the boy up. He was expecting the boy to be a lot heavier than he actually was. To say Severus was shocked at how light the boy was, was a huge understatement.

"This child is wearing a glamour." Severus said rearranging the boy in his arms more comfortably. "He is far lighter than he looks." He quickly started walking down the long hallway until he came to a guest bedroom that probably had never been used before. Severus used his foot to nudge the door open, then strode in and set the boy on the bed. He used a spell to take the child's clothes off and then raised a questioning gaze at the other occupants of the room.

Poppy looked highly disturbed at the boy's appearance of cuts and bruises, then she saw the chain embedded into his neck and gasped. Albus on the other hand, Severus couldn't' tell what the old man was thinking. His face was clean of any emotions, and his eyes were hard, not twinkling like they usually were.

"You said he was wearing a glamour, Severus," Poppy started. "I can't see how he could look any worse than he already does. They don't usually look this bad, do they?"

"Some do, and some don't." Severus sighed. "Usually the ones that look this bad are the one that the business calls trouble makers. But they don't create trouble really, they just have a free will of their own. So I believe that the slave dealers try to beat the free will out of them. Now, would you like me to remove the glamour so we can start?" At Poppy's nod Severus raised his wand and took off the glamour.

Poppy gasped and Albus murmured, "Oh Merlin..."

"What?" questioned Severus. From what he could tell, only a few bruises appeared, mostly on his face and neck. Poppy reached forward and put her hand on the boy's forehead, then gently lifted his bangs to show him what was there.

Severus felt the breath squeeze from his lungs when he saw it, it couldn't have been true. Albus had said the boy was safe, that his family had gone into hiding. But yet, there is was. The truth to the boy's identity; a lightning bolt scar. The boy was Harry Potter. Now that he knew, Severus could see a little of James under all of bruises and cuts, but he could see a little Lily as well. The way his nose was, the shape of his face, and his eyes. Severus hadn't realized it before, but the boy really did have Lily's eyes.

Severus didn't know what to think, so he chanced a glance at Poppy and Albus. Poppy was white, with fury or fright, Severus wasn't sure. Her hand was shaking on the boy's forehead as she stared into Harry's face. Albus on the other hand, hadn't said a word, and his expression was unreadable.

"It's Harry Potter." Severus said quietly, even though everybody in the room knew it, perhaps except the boy himself. He turned to Albus, who still hadn't taken his eyes off the child lying on the bed. He would have loved to question the old man, but then he saw Harry and realized that they had just been standing there, while the boy had been suffering.

"Well, shall we heal him then?" Severus asked.

"Yes! Yes, of course!" Poppy said, shaking her head as if to clear it. She pulled out her wand and began doing scans of Harry's body, Severus turned and left the room. When he came back he was carrying any potion Poppy would ever need for healing.

"Most of the injuries look external..." Poppy said eyeing the sheet of paper. "He has multiple bruises and cuts, as you can see, two broken ribs, and four broken fingers." She reached over and plucked a potion off the table- a pain potion. "He has a lot of bones that had been broken, and healed wrong; I will need to break them and set them right."

Poppy spelled the potion into Harry's body and immediately started resetting the bones. There were multiple fingers and toes, a couple of ribs, his collar bone, a couple of bones in an arm and a couple in one of his legs.

"Those are old injuries?" Severus asked, shocked that the child could have been injured so much.

"Yes, and one of the saddest parts is, a large portion of them happened before he was six!" She exclaimed angrily as she spelled in another potion. After about an hour of resetting bones, they had finished, Poppy and Severus looked exhausted, but they continued to work.

"Let's start on the chain next," Poppy suggested, in a voice that sounded not so suggesting.

"It looks like we'll have to cut it out." Severus commented.

"We'll have to be extra gentle." Poppy responded. "I think we should put him into a body bind, just until we're done so he doesn't hurt his neck by moving it as we work. So the spell was quickly cast and they set to work.

Halfway through the pain potion must have quit working because Harry made a soft whining noise in his throat. Severus got the impression that if Harry had been able to move, he would have curled up in a ball. That thought caused him to reach over and spell another potion into Harry's system.

It took almost a whole hour to cut the whole chain out and had the wound bandaged.

"That's going to leave a nasty scar." Severus commented. "I don't think even potions will be able to get rid of it completely." Poppy shook her head in anger, Severus could understand how she felt. He didn't understand how anybody could treat a child in such a way. He didn't like children, but not even he could be so cruel.

Severus turned to retrieve the bruise ointment to realize that Albus was gone.

"Bastard." Severus muttered as he picked up the jar.

"Severus, there is a child in the room!" Poppy scolded lightly.

"I wonder how much Albus knew." Severus said as he uncapped the jar.

"Who knows what that old man is thinking most of the time, " Poppy replied and started rubbing the ointment on, Severus copied. It only took about forty five minutes to rub the ointment into all the bruises with both of them doing it together, so they capped the jar, put Harry's shirt on, and removed the body bind and the sleeping spell. Harry would wake up on his own in the morning.

Severus then picked the boy up and brought him back to the closet, where he proceeded to wrap the small body in the blankets in there. He may not have liked children, but that didn't mean he wanted them to suffer in any way, even if it is only from being chilly.

"You care about him." Poppy stated, it wasn't a question. Severus scowled and stood, then closed the door to face her.

"He's Lily's boy." Severus said. "How can I not?" Poppy was the only person that Severus ever opened up to, and it was only because she could see right through him. He also held a deep respect for her, as she always healed his injuries (whether he wanted her to or not) when he came back from meetings.

"You still miss her." Again, another statement. Severus nodded.

"I…I had always hoped…that she would realize that Potter wasn't good for her. That I loved her." Severus said. "I was going to tell her one day…but when I went to talk to her she was just so excited about something." Poppy took Severus' hand and led him to the kitchen where she proceeded to make him some tea.

"Go on." She prompted as she set the tea in front of him.

"Well, we both had to tell each other something, and she was the happiest I had seen her in a long time, so I let her go first." Severus continued, not picking up his tea. "That was when she told me she was marrying Potter. I'll admit to you, and don't even think of telling anybody else, but I was _crushed._" Poppy put her hand on Severus' arm for comfort.

"I wasn't able to tell her. Then when she got pregnant with Harry…" Severus picked up his tea and took a small sip. "He should have been mine. Maybe he would have if I had told her. Then he never would have been put into slavery, we could have went into hiding."

"Is this what this is about?" Poppy asked, "Are you blaming yourself on Harry being a slave?"

"Partly." Severus answered. "But now when I look at him, I think of how he could have been mine, and it…hurt… I could have had a family, Poppy."

"What about me?" Poppy said. "I think of you as my son."

"Well, thank you Poppy." Severus said, a sad smile on his face. "But it's not really the same, is it?"

"No, I suppose not." She sighed. "You know, it isn't too late to start a family now."

"Now? In times like this?" Severus asked unbelieving. "I'd rather not father a child in a time where Voldemort rules, thank you very much."

"I know Severus, just remember that it isn't too late. You are still young." Poppy said standing. "I think I best be going now, it's getting late and we both need rest. Firecall if anything happens with Harry."

"I will, and thank you Poppy." Severus said, turning his face away to hide the small blush that crept onto his face.

"Any time dear." Poppy replied, then turned and gave him a quick hug. "Good night, Severus." Then she was gone, and Severus was left standing in the room alone. He shook his head and set his tea cup down on the table, he couldn't believe he had said all of that!

Severus sighed and went up stair to his room, he really was exhausted. He quickly stripped himself of his clothes, except his pants, and crawled into bed. He was a sleep before his head hit the pillow


	4. First Day

**Warnings: **Mentions of rape, abuse, and some language

**Authors Note: **Sorry for the long wait, I got distracted with one of my other stories and I wanted to write what I had been thinking before I forgot it. Also, I've already been experiencing writers block for this story. I have a general outline, but sometimes it's hard filling all the insides. If anybody has any suggestions of what they'd like to see in the story, let me know. I take everybody's opinions into consideration.

**Clipped Wings Chapter Three**

58532 groaned as his eyes fluttered open. His body was sore all over, but it wasn't the sharp stabbing pains he used to feel, just a dull throbbing everywhere. He opened his eyes all the way and looked down at his body, the bruises he had seemed to have faded overnight and he bit his lip. Slaves weren't supposed to do magic and sometimes if somebody did too much the slave handlers would put on a special collar that would absorb all the magic until the slave turned into a squib.

The only reason they didn't do it to all of the slaves was because some Masters like their slaves to do magic, for various reasons. Some just thought it was inhumane to take something like that, even if it was just a slave. Most of the use of collars was used quite illegally, behind closed doors until the process was finished, then the slave would be obliviated so they wouldn't tell. The slave handlers then, change the slave's number and tell everybody the other slave died and the one without any magic was either a muggle, or a squib.

58532 frowned again when he moved his arms and legs, when he wiggled his finger and toes. They didn't hurt so much and he wondered if his Master would see, and sap all his magic. Even if he wasn't allowed to use magic, he didn't want to lose it, what if he needed it for something important some day? Of course, he did have the occasional bout of accidental magic, but all kids did. His accidental magic had been mostly when nobody was around. At first the slave handlers had thought he was a squib, but then one day 58532 had accidentally zapped another slave. He was beaten something fierce that day and he hadn't had another bout of accidental magic (in the presence of anybody else) since.

58532 sighed as he stood, he didn't want to think about such things anymore; he'd worry about it when it came, he told himself. As he stretched, his joints popped and groaned angrily in protest. Suddenly he wondered what time it was, it felt like he'd been asleep for a really long time, he slept really well though, surprisingly. Since he was five he'd been dreading the day he got a Master, he had always heard such horrible things from the other slaves.

He was only six when he'd learned about sex slaves. Another slave, 74289, had explained that there were supposed to slaves trained and sold for that specifically, but the poorer people would buy regular slaves and rape them. At the time 58532 had no idea what 'sex' was, or 'rape', but 74289 made them both sound extremely horrible. It was explained to him, but he still hadn't understood.

When he was seven he witness rape first hand. All the slaves had been in a dark, damp, room with almost no light when the door suddenly opened. Most of the slaves flinched away from the light, but 58532 hadn't. He'd been out in the light a lot, since he was still being trained; he looked around at everybody and then looked at the door in wonder.

A man was standing there looking positively mad, there was an evil grin on his face that 58532 was sure he'd never forget. The man stepped forward and looked around, then strode up to where 58532 had been sitting next to 74289. The man knelt down to his level and grinned at him, 58532 felt really uncomfortable, but knew not to move away.

The man had said that 58532 looked like such a nice 'fuck toy', but he hadn't understood what that was, so he hadn't been scared. 74289 on the other hand, had known exactly what it was and was furious. The old muggle had taken 58532's arm and pulled him back gently and snarled at the other man, earning him a kick in the face.

The other man then turned away from 58532 and grabbed another slave that he'd not known the name of. He hit the boy and threw him onto the floor. Both their clothes had been removed with magic and the scream that had filled the room for the next twenty minutes sent shivers up 58532's spine and it haunted his nightmares.

That day he'd learned what 'rape' and 'sex' was, but to him they both sounded like the same thing.

58532 shook his head as if to clean his mind, it was never good for him to think about things, it just made him scared. He sighed and put his ear against the door to see if he could hear anything, but there were no sounds. As quietly as he could he opened the door a crack and looked out, it was still almost completely dark out; 58532 figured it was early morning, probably around two or three. Hoping with all his heart that his Master wouldn't wake, he opened the door all the way out and left.

He remembered when he was in training that slaves were supposed to do all the house chores; such as the cooking, cleaning, gardening, and anything else Master wanted. The house seemed incredibly huge when he first arrived, he figured it would take all day to clean; he had to start right away if he was to finish on time.

Wandering down the hall a bit he peeked in all the rooms as he went except one at the end with the door closed, he figured that's where his Master slept, so he turned around started walking the other way. He passed a guest room, a library, a bathroom, and a study on the way, and then the last one was the kitchen.

Entering the kitchen he shut the door behind him and looked around. There really wasn't much in it. There was a dining table and a stove, a couple of cupboard and a sink. Under the sink was another cupboard, 58532 quickly went to it and opened the door. He knew from living at the Dursley's for the first five years of his life that some people kept cleaning supplies under sink, sure enough there was some down there. There were a couple of different bottles and then a bucket of rags next to them.

58532 picked up a bottle and looked at it, there was label but he couldn't really read that well, slaves weren't allowed to know how to read, or do math, or anything really. He didn't know why, he just knew that that's how it was. He'd gotten punished for knowing too much once when he was eight, he had been counting the stones on the wall when a slave handler came in and saw him. He never let on that he could count and read some.

58532 eyed the label on the bottle and squinted, glass cleaner. He put it down and picked up another one, that one he couldn't read so he opened it and smelled it. The one in his hands smelled an awful lot like the cleaner the Dursley's had him clean the tables and counter tops with. The last one he could tell what it was right away, bleach. 58532 put it back down and picked up the one for cleaning counter tops with and set to work on the table, it was surprisingly dusty, didn't Master ever use it? The dust was so thick that he had to switch rags half way through.

Once the surface was finished 58532 went to do the counters when he noticed cobwebs hanging from underneath. Frowning he crouched down and began removing them, it was quite obvious that the table was almost never used. When the table was finally clean he got up and looked around, spotting a closet that he hadn't noticed before he went to it. Inside was a lot more cleaning supplies, buckets of rags, lots of cleaner, even a broom and a mop.

58532 grabbed another handful of rags and some more cleaner and went to work on the counter tops, that seemed to have somehow collected even more dust than the table had, if that was even possible.

When he had finished the counter tops be went back to the closet to get the broom. Out of all the chores he had to do, sweeping and moping had to be his favorite, though he couldn't tell you why. He just found it to be rather relaxing, that's all. It didn't take long for the sweeping to be done, he got a bucket and a mop. The bucket was filled with hot water and bleach. Knowing that bleach was bad for clothes and not wanting to destroy his Master's shirt, 58532 took it off while he cleaned, making himself completely naked.

58532 moped as fast as he could, he didn't want his Master to come in and find him cleaning naked. He didn't know if he'd get into trouble for it or not, and he didn't want to take any chances.

Soon the whole kitchen was clean, but the sun was already coming up. Noises could be heard from down the hall so he quickly put the cleaning supplies away and went back to his closet. The slave handlers had told him that he's supposed to greet his Master every morning with coffee, or tea, and breakfast; but some of the more experienced slaves had told him that for the first day you're supposed to wait for your Master to tell you what he expects of you.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Severus woke with a start, breathing hard and sweating. He's had a horrible nightmare, in it the Dark Lord had found out his slave was Harry Potter and killed him, then Lily's ghost came to haunt him. She had said some terrible things to him that made his heart feel as if it was being squeezed painfully.

Severus then realized that he'd have to reapply the glamour on Potter to try to hide him from the Dark Lord. He knew it was impossible for a death eater to have a slave without the Dark Lord wanting to meet them, and sometimes make use of them. He shuddered as he remembered the various slaves he'd witnessed giving service to the Dark Lord, he prayed that he wouldn't want Potter like that.

Severus shuddered again and quickly got out of bed, he needed to check on the brat. His wards haven't gone off, so that meant that Potter was still in his closet. He briefly wondered why Potter hadn't tried to clean everything, normally the slaves he brought home tried, not that he was complaining. He didn't really want Potter to clean the house, he didn't want to make any child clean the place.

He opened his bedroom door and crossed the hall to the bathroom. After relieving himself and washing his face, he left to go check on Potter. When he opened the door he saw Potter flinch away slightly and back up into the corner. He swallowed past a lump that had suddenly formed in his throat, why was it so hard? Usually he had no problems snapping at the slaves he got, as long as they eventually got into a decent home. But he couldn't bring himself to be mean to Potter.

"Come along, 58532." Severus said, trying to sound harsh, but not really succeeding. Potter immediately stood up and went up to Severus, his head was bowed and his body stiff. Severus quickly turned and walked down the hall to the kitchen, Potter trailing behind him. When he opened the door however, he had to stop, causing Potter to bump into him.

"I'm sorry Master!" Potter cried.

"It's alright, Po-58532." Severus said, mentally cursing himself for the slip up. "Did you clean this kitchen?" He turned around to look at the boy, who had shrunken back.

"Yes, Master." Potter said, but it sounded more like a question than a statement.

"How did you get out of your closet without the wards going off?" Severus demanded, he knew for sure he had put them up.

"Wards, Master?" Potter asked.

"Yes, I put wards up to alert me if you left the closet," Severus said, eyes narrowing. "Have you taken them down?" Potter's eyes had gone wide with fear.

"No! Master I didn't, I swear!" Potter's hands came up and wrapped around his neck, as if to block something from getting to it. Severus turned without another word and strode across the kitchen, pulled open a door and went through. Potter followed close behind him and looked around the living room as if he was seeing it for the first time. Severus realized that last night must have been a blur for Potter.

"Sit." Severus commanded, then blinked as Potter immediately sat on the floor where he had been standing. He wanted to tell the boy to sit on the couch, but knew that in the business they taught slaves that they could never sit on the furniture. Severus crouched in front of the boy and looked into his eyes. He realized that the Dark Lord would know them anywhere and Potter's cover would be blown right away. He pulled out his want and pointed it at Potter, who flinched and began whimpering; Potter's eyes immediately filled with tears.

Swallowing past another lump that formed, he began altering Potter's appearance. Severus put a glamour over the scar, turned Potter's eyes blue, and his hair was turned brown. Potter had tears rolling down his face, and Severus felt the odd sensation of wanting to comfort him, but he couldn't, so he stood and went to the kitchen. Potter watched him, wondering what he was supposed to do.

"Stay there." Severus said, then went into the kitchen. "Nippy!" There was a pop.

"What can Nippy be getting for Master?" Nippy asked, her eyes going wide at how clean the room was. "Master cleaned!"

"No," Severus sighed. "I did not clean, the slave did."

"Oh, so what can Nippy get for Master?"

"Can you bring me and my slave some breakfast?" Severus asked.

"Of course, Nippy is getting it now!" She popped away, and then popped back a moment later with two plates of eggs and bacon. She set them on the table and popped away again. Severus looked at the plates, then took one and set it onto the floor, then he called Potter in. The boy came in almost immediately and stood in front of Severus, waiting for instruction.

"Sit." Severus commanded, Potter sat. "Eat that food on the floor." Potter's eyes widened when he saw it, then looked back up to Severus for permission. "Go on." Severus then went to his spot at the table and began eating. He hated eating at the table while there was a child eating on the floor, he just wanted to grab Potter and make his sit at the table. Instead, he ignored the child was even down there. After a couple of minutes Severus realized the boy wasn't making any noises anymore and looked down, the boy's food was already completely gone, licked clean and everything. Severus shook his head and finished his breakfast.

"Come back into the living room if you will." Severus said, going into the living room and sitting on the couch. Potter just stood in front of Severus, not looking up from the floor. "You may sit down." Potter sat down.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

58532 was confused to say the least. He'd just gotten an amazing breakfast, even if he hadn't known how to use the metal pointy thing that had been on his plate, and his Master hadn't punished him yet at all. Not even when he ran into him!

Sitting on the floor he waited for Master to talk, but instead he pulled out his wand. 58532 flinched away involuntarily. He hated being punished with the wand, it was worse than being hit with fists, or being whipped. But the pain never came, instead there was a slight pushing inside his head. Without really realizing it, 58532 pushed it away quickly.

When he looked up at his Master, he was sitting on the couch his mouth was hanging open, looking to be in shock. 58532 began to worry, had he done something wrong? Was he going to be punished? Suddenly the man got up, making him flinch again, and strode out of the room, telling 58532 to stay where he was.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Severus couldn't believe it, the boy was a natural Occlumens. Even trying his best, he was unable to penetrate Potter's mind. He went to the floo called Albus and Poppy, who flooed over immediately.

"What's wrong? Is there something wrong with Harry?" Poppy questioned right away, not even brushing the soot off her robes.

"No, I thought you might like to meet him." Severus said, "While he's awake."

"Severus, you know that's not a good idea." Poppy said, "I am unable to be as harsh as you."

"You needn't worry," Severus sneered, "He's a natural Occlumens." Both Albus and Poppy looked shocked.

"You're sure, Severus?" Albus asked.

"Yes, I haven't felt shields that strong in a long time." Severus said. "I think they may rival yours." Albus nodded.

"Alright, take us there." Severus quickly opened the door to the study and they made their way to the living room, where Potter hadn't moved an inch. The boy looked up and he looked worried.

"58532, I'd like you to meet some people I know," Severus said calmly. Before anybody could say anything, Albus flung his wand out and pointed it at Potter, the twinkle in his eye dead, and his mouth in a hard line.


	5. Some Questions Answered

Clipped Wings Chapter Four: Some Questions Answered

Severus stared in shock as Albus pointed his wand at Potter. Potter's eyes widened and filled with tears, he flinched slightly and the tears started to fall down his pale cheeks. Severus wondered for a moment if the slave handlers had tortured the slaves with spells, most did, but not all. By the way Potter was acting, he would be willing to bet that they had tortured Potter, but what spells did they use?

Suddenly Potter's eyes met Albus' and his body went stiff, his breathing became labored and his face began paling even more than it normally was. Severus shot Poppy a look, did she know what was going on? He didn't, was Albus hurting Potter? Poppy looked just as shocked as he felt.

When Potter let out a pained moan Severus immediately pulled his wand out and pointed it at Albus.

"Expelliarmus!" He growled. The wand flew from Albus' hand and landed on the floor at Severus' feet. Potter slumped to the floor, tears continuing to pour down his face.

"What in Merlin's name, Albus?" Severus demanded, walking over to the boy on the floor.

"Albus, what were you doing to that poor boy?" Poppy snapped angrily almost at the same time, following Severus' lead and walked over to the boy. Potter whimpered and tried to scoot away, he was holding his head as if it was in pain.

"Potter, stop moving." Potter looked up at Severus with confusion and fear, but he stopped trying to get away. "Does your head hurt?" At first Potter didn't say anything, but at Severus' growl, he nodded his head, then winced.

Poppy pointed her wand and began running diagnostics.

"I was only testing his shields." Albus said from behind them. Severus turned slightly and raised an eyebrow.

"You couldn't have told us before?" Severus snapped.

"I didn't think of it." Albus said airily. Severus shook his head, summoned a potion, and handed it to Potter.

"Take this, Potter." Severus said, "It will help your headache." Potter looked at him with huge green eyes, but didn't take the potion.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" The idiot boy blinked once, then twice.

"Who's Potter?" Potter finally asked, looking worried, as if Severus would hit him for asking.

"You are." Severus snapped.

"No, I'm 58532..." Potter said confused.

"No, your name is Harry. Harry James Potter." Severus said annoyed. Potter looked at the floor and cocked his head. When he lifted it again, he was frowning slightly.

"Harry? What's wrong?" Poppy asked, placing her hand on his shoulder. Potter flinched away and eyed her.

"Potter, answer Poppy!" Severus snapped irritated. Severus told himself that even though he wasn't going to treat Potter as a slave, he still needed to listen to his elders. It had nothing to do with being curious, or Merlin forbid, worried.

"Oh...Nothing, ma'am." Potter said, then continued at seeing Severus' glare. "I...Well...I think I remembered something? But maybe it wasn't a memory...It wasn't too clear."

"Well, what was it?" Severus asked.

"J-just my mum. I think. She was calling me...H-Harry." Potter frowned.

"Oh." Was all that Severus said. Potter was able to remember his mother? Did he remember her death then? What an upsetting thought.

"Drink the Potion, Potter." Severus said after clearing his throat, it was only a tickle. Definately not a massive lump that had formed with sympathy, no, only a tickle. The air was very dry, how could he not get a throat tickle? He cleared his throat again as if to prove the point.

Potter took the potion, after shooting Severus a strange look, and swallowed it, not even making a face in disgust.

"Good, feel better now?" Severus asked, Potter nodded. "Alright, sit down then." Potter looked confused.

"B-but, I am sitting..." The brat said.

"No, sit down on the couch." The brats eyes widened again in fear.

"I'm not allowed to sit on the couch though..." Potter said, his voice cracking slightly.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5853- No, it was Harry, wasn't it? That's what Master said, and what Master says is law. So his name was Harry, not 58532. Was his name Harry before? It seemed that he could remember something, a woman with red hair, and she was yelling, "Not Harry! Not Harry!" and then there was a flash of green light. Was that his mum?

"No, sit down on the couch." Master said. What? On the couch? Didn't this man know that slaves are never allowed on the furniture?

"I'm not allowed to sit on the couch though..." Harry tried. His voice cracked in the middle from trying to keep his emotions in check. He couldn't keep crying like he had, he didn't want Master to get rid of him. It'd only been a day since coming, but Master was so nice to him. He wasn't like other people's Masters, he hadn't hit Harry once, and even gave him blankets to sleep on.

"You are allowed, because I'm telling you to." Master said. Harry thought for a minute. When he was being trained, they said that he was never allowed to be on furniture. But Master said to, so that meant he had to, right? That was one of the first rules he ever learned, always obey Master.

Carefully, his eyes on Master the whole time, he got off the floor and walked over to the couch and stood there for a moment before carefully sitting down. He was a bit surprised at how pleasant it was. He'd never sat on a couch before, but now he understood why so many people did. It was soft and he sank right in, so much better than the floor.

"Now," Master said while walking over to the armchair across from 5-Harry. "I'd like you to meet a couple of people. This-" Master waved in the direction of the old man with a beard, but stopped at seeing that the man wasn't there anymore.

"Poppy, where did Albus go?" Master asked harshly.

"I-I don't know, I was checking over Harry." The lady stammered, looking flustered. Harry bit his lip, he'd seen the old man slip into the kitchen. Was he supposed to speak up and say so? But he knew that slaves weren't supposed to talk without being spoken to and he'd already pushed his luck by asking who Potter was.

Master must have saw his anxious look and demanded to know if he'd seen the old man, what was his name? Albus?

"I-I saw him go into the kitchen." Harry said, keeping a close eye on his Master. Master looked annoyed, but Harry couldn't tell if it was directed at him or not.

Usually any anger, irritation, or frustration was taken out on him, even with the slave handlers. Once in a while they'd beat up another slave, but he was the main outlet. He didn't have much time to ponder it though, because Master got up and marched into the kitchen, the woman on his heels.

When the door shut he could still hear the voices, so he listened, knowing he could get into huge trouble for doing so.

"Albus, I thought you left like you did when we were healing Potter." Said a voice, Masters. So that's how he got healed? Master did it? That was hard to believe, but at least he hadn't healed himself. And it was nice not having the chain digging and rubbing into the raw skin in his neck.

Harry didn't catch what the old man said, but his Master asked, "So how were his shields? Were you able to get through?"

"No, Severus, the shields were strong, very strong indeed; I was unable to break them, or even get through in the slightest bit." The old man said. The rest of the conversation was silent, Harry guessed that they finally realized that they forgot to put up a silencing spell.

A couple of minutes later Master came out with the lady, but the old man wasn't with them. Which was alright with Harry, there was something about the old man that put him on edge. There was just something…_not right. _

"As I was saying, Potter," Master said sounding tired. "That old man that was just here was Albus, Albus Dumbledore." Harry nodded. "This is Madam Pomfrey." Harry nodded again, but who were these people? Master said they were Albus Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey, but who were they to Master? Were they friends of his? For some reason, Master didn't seem the type to have many friends.

"You look confused, Harry dear," Madam Pomfrey said softly. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing ma'am." Harry said. He didn't want to make them mad at him for asking too many questions, and he was sure he'd figure it out over time.

"You're sure?" Pomfrey questioned.

"Yes ma'am."

"There are some things I'd like to discuss with you, Potter." Master said, attracting Harry's attention. This was new, he'd never heard of a Master actually discussing something with their slave. It was always just giving orders, and the slaves following the orders.

"Do you remember when Albus pointed his wand at you, and you got that headache?" Master asked, sounding like he was trying to hide his irritation.

"Yes, Master." Harry said.

"Do you know what he was doing to you?" Harry slowly shook his head.

"He was checking your Occlumency shields." Master growled. "Do you know what that means?"

"No Sir," Harry said. "Slaves aren't supposed to know anything about magic, Master." Harry saw Master grit his teeth and clench his fists, and he shrank back. Had that been the wrong thing to say?

"I wish you wouldn't call me that." Master said. Harry's mind raced, what had he called his Master? He thought back, but didn't recall.

"Sorry Master, but what don't you want to be called?" Harry asked and tensed, waiting for the blow, or curse, to come.

"Master." Master said, "I don't wish to be called Master." Harry's mind reeled, what was Master on about? What else was Harry supposed to call him, by his name? He could be killed for that. Was this Master's way of saying that he didn't want Harry anymore? Would he get sent away? Would Harry get executed, or his magic sapped? Would he have to go back to sleeping out in cold, wet places? Would he have to go back to being 58532?

"Are you going to send me back?" Harry asked sadly. "I promise I will be good! I'll cook and clean, and set out your clothes every day. I won't eat very much, and I'll even sleep outside!"

"What are you carrying on about?" Master snapped. "Why would I send you back?"

"Well, you don't want me to call you Master. I've never heard of such a thing, so I figured that you were going to send me back; aren't you?" Harry looked at his Master with worried eyes.

"No, Potter, I'm not sending you back." Master growled. "Just call me 'Sir' instead of Master."

"Yes Ma-Sir." Harry said.

"Good, now back to what we were talking about. Occlumency shields are shields that block people from penetrating your mind. That's what Albus was trying to do, penetrate you mind, but he was unable because you have natural Occlumency shields." Master explained. Harry nodded, but he didn't really understand. How could he have natural Occlumency shields? And what did they have to do with anything?

"We will still work on improving them, and keeping them strong." Master continued. Harry didn't nod, wasn't practicing Occlumency shields the same as doing magic? But maybe it wasn't? Either way, it was protecting himself from magic and that was just as bad.

"What Severus is trying to get at is, you no longer have to be a slave because you can protect yourself from people getting into your mind." Pomfrey said. Harry stared at her, not a slave? What was this woman talking about? Of course he was a slave, it was the only thing he was good for, wasn't it? It must have been a trick, Harry decided. They would wait for him to stop acting like a slave, and then they would punish him.

"Do you understand, Harry?" Pomfrey asked. Harry hesitated, he really didn't understand, but he didn't want to make them mad, so he nodded.

"No more cleaning, no more sleeping on the floor of my closet, and no more eating on the floor." Master said, confusing Harry more. If he wasn't allowed to sleep on the floor in the closet and eat on the floor, where would he do those things? Maybe Master wanted him to start sleeping outside? And maybe he wasn't allowed to eat anymore at all, but he didn't know what to think about that.

Harry was fine with the idea of sleeping outside, it wasn't too terrible and he got fresh air, but not eating? Hunger hurt and he didn't want to go through it anymore.

"Come, and I'll show you to your room." Master said.

"Yes Ma-Sir." Harry replied, getting off the couch. Master turned quickly, robes snapping around his legs, and began walking. As Harry passed Madam Pomfrey, she reached out and ruffled his hair. Harry flinched slightly, but as she ran her finger through his hair, Harry got a strange feeling of longing.

Harry decided to ignore it and followed Master, expecting him to lead Harry outside. He didn't, however. Instead Master led Harry though the kitchen and down the hall, they stopped outside of a room across from Master's.

"You may stay in this room." Master said, grabbing the door knob and swinging the door open. Harry peered in curiously, and then looked at the ground. He'd remembered seeing that room when he was exploring that morning, it was a small guest room that looked like it hadn't been slept in for some time.

"Well, go in." Master snapped, making Harry jump in fright. He stepped into the room just far enough to be considered in the room, and looked back at Master, not knowing what to do. Master looked pained, and slightly annoyed, and Madam Pomfrey was standing next to him looking sad. Harry wanted to ask her why she was sad and try to make her feel better, but he knew nobody would ever want a dirty slave comforting them.

"I know it's not much," Master said, sounding quite uncomfortable. "but it should only be temporary." Harry looked back up at Master, temporary? What was that supposed to mean? Would he be going back to the closet soon?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Why don't you stay here and check out your room while Poppy and I go talk?" Severus asked. Potter nodded, but didn't move, so he gave the little brat a small shove further into the room. Potter glanced back at him, and then hesitantly took a step further into the room, then another.

"Come along, Poppy." Severus snapped and quickly turned to leave. On the way back to the kitchen he told Poppy to firecall Albus, and he would make some tea. Severus had questions and he wanted answer, he was tired of getting left out of the loop.

When Albus and Poppy came into the kitchen, Severus set three places for tea at the table, setting Poppy next to him and Albus across the table. Poppy looked curious as she sat down, but Albus had on a hard mask.

With the Dark Lord in power, Albus was almost never seen with his usual twinkling eyes, but it as it was then, hard and angry. Something had changed in the old man, and Severus was willing to bet that it had something to do with Potter.

"How did Potter end up as a slave?" Severus demanded after everyone was seated. "He was supposed to be with his grandparents." Albus' mask slipped a bit and a little bit of surprise showed, along with something else that Severus couldn't place.

"For young Harry's protection, I placed him with his aunt and uncle, Petunia and Vernon." Albus said, "I couldn't have anybody know where he was, not even you, Severus."

"Petunia and Vernon! You know how they are, horrible people! Why did you not place him with his grandparents?"

"Simply, they're dead." Albus shrugged. "They died a while before Harry was born, and Petunia was the only living family poor Harry had left." Severus felt infuriated, how could Albus be so blind?

"I can't believe you were stupid enough to leave Potter in their care, you know how much they hated magic!" Severus exclaimed. "Did you ever check up on him?"

"Now, now, Severus, I made a mistake." Albus said quietly, "I am only human, after all."

"Potter being in the slave business could have been prevented though, had you placed him in a caring family!" Severus slammed his hand on the table in anger. He had planned on asking Albus if he had a home for Potter, so he could get the brat out of his house, but he no longer felt comfortable leaving him in Albus' care. As it was, he needed to know what Albus was planning.

"Have you found a new home for him yet?" Severus snarled.

"Actually, I was hoping you would take him." Albus suggested. "It's the safest place for him right now, and with his glamours nobody will ever recognize him. The death eaters would expect you to buy a slave eventually, it all works out."

"Me, Albus?" Severus asked, "It may be the most safest, but it's also the most dangerous. Have you any idea what the Dark Lord does with death eater's slaves? He likes to have his fun with them, sometimes killing them in the process. Very slowly and painfully, I might add. Do you really want that for H-Potter?"

"Just don't tell Voldemort and the Death Eaters that you have a slave now." Dumbledore shrugged and Severus could only stare in shock. Had Dumbledore finally fell off his rocker? Did he actually believe that would work?

"Albus, there had been Death Eaters there when I bought Potter, it's probably already gotten to the Dark Lord." Severus said. "Don't take this the wrong way, but Potter _is _a beautiful boy, if a bit scrawny, he would probably be raped repeatedly by the Death Eaters and the Dark Lord."

"Tell the Dark Lord you sold him. Or that you got too rough and he died." Albus said, sounding oddly cold.

"Yes, but what happens then, if the Death Eaters decide to raid the house and find him? The wards are strong, but I wouldn't trust them against a whole army of Death Eaters."

"Give him to me when you're called, Severus." Poppy spoke up for the first time, "I would love to watch him." Severus thought that was actually a really good idea, he trusted Poppy with his life and Potter's.

"I could make him a portkey that will bring him straight to headquarters when I get summoned," Severus said thoughtfully.

"Yes, and I'm sure Molly and Arthur would love to meet young Harry." Poppy put in.

"Then it's settled." Dumbledore said, a slight growl to his voice. "Harry stays with Severus." He quickly stood up and without a word to Poppy or Severus, strode out of the room so fast it was as if Voldemort himself was on Albus' heals.

Once Severus was sure that Dumbledore had gone, he turned to Poppy and put his head in his hands.

"Something's different with Albus." Severus said, "He's so cold, and I get the feeling that he either had something to do with Harry being in the business, or he really doesn't care."

"I got the same impression." Poppy murmured, placing her hand on Severus' arm for comfort. In Poppy's mind, Severus might as well be her son, and she didn't like seeing any son of hers in such emotional distress. She wasn't sure what part, exactly, was bothering Severus…The problem with Albus, or if he was agitated that little Harry was in such a mess, or if it was a combination of both; on top of that, having to go on Death Eater meeting while worrying whether Voldemort would learn about Harry, putting all of them in danger…Yes, Poppy could see why her son would be in such distress.

Poppy stood, pulling Severus to his feet, and wrapped him into a strong hug. Surprisingly, Severus returned it immediately with a deep sigh.

"I don't know what to do, Poppy." Severus said, trying to pull away. Poppy wouldn't have any of that, she held on. It was for her benefit too, after all.

"We'll think of something…" Poppy murmured soothingly.

**Authors Note:** So what do you guys think so far? Weird place to stop probably, but I couldn't think of a good place, sorry. I hope nobody minds a motherly Poppy, I really hadn't expected her to play such a big part, but I have a feeling she will. That's just how the story wanted to go, I guess.


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